The trial of businessman Francis Onebe, accused of murder, will continue on Monday, October 2, at the High Court in Kampala. The case will involve further questioning of the investigating officer, Jacob Okello, as it progresses.
The High Court Judge presiding over this case is Michael Elubu. Joseph Kyomuhendo, Principal State Attorney, is leading the prosecution, while the defense is represented by lawyers Patrick Kasamba, David Oluka, and Joshua Emorut, who are defending both Francis Onebe and security guard Bonny Oriekot.
During the last court session, the court learned that Onebe’s wife, Immaculate Mary Blessing Aiso, was abducted and strangled to death. According to a witness statement presented in court, on January 6, 2021, Aiso was abducted before reaching her home gate in Munyonyo, Kampala. She was then transported to Bukasa, a suburb of Kampala, where she was confined in a building under construction for more than a week.
The statement also indicated that Aiso was strangled to death, and her body was later taken back to her residence, where the security guard, Phanuel Okale, opened the gate.
Onebe, a 63-year-old accountant, is accused of killing his wife and subsequently disposing of her body in a septic tank. If convicted, he could face the maximum penalty of the death sentence.
Both Onebe and his security guard, Bonny Oriekot, aged 26, have been in Luzira Prison for over two years, having been denied bail twice.
On January 6, 2021, Onebe reported his wife missing at Buziga Police Post, leading to an investigation. He claimed that his wife was taken by plainclothes operatives in a ‘drone’ to an unknown location. A week later, her body was discovered in a septic tank at their residence by a joint security team led by the Crime Investigation Department of the Police Force.
Preliminary police investigations revealed that Onebe and his wife, Aiso, had separated but reunited and formally married after 14 years, leading up to her murder.
Following the police probe, Onebe was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, leading to his committal to the High Court for trial. The Director of Public Prosecutions cited a dispute over sorcery as the motive behind Aiso’s death in the committal papers.
